This invention relates to card validation systems, and more particularly to a system for validating coded cards to determine their authenticity by reading the code on the cards.
The invention is adapted for use, for example, in a vendor to validate cards used as checks or tokens representing an amount of money for controlling the vendor. Thus, the invention is useful, for example, in a vendor for cartons of cigarettes, such as shown in coassigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,366 issued Aug. 26, 1975 to control the vending of cartons by the vendor, in lieu of direct use of money (bills or coin) in the vendor. To buy a carton of cigarettes, the purchaser buys a card representing an amount of money corresponding to the purchase price of a carton of the desired brand of cigarettes, and inserts the card (instead of cash) in the vendor to effect a vend of a carton of the brand desired, the card being coded in accordance with the value it represents.